The heroine and Edmund continued talking under the night sky, unaware of the eyes watching them from the shadows.
Lucian sighed as he removed his arm, glancing at the female dorms in the distance.
They planned to stargaze together, and he didn't want Celine to see him with another woman, even though he had her approval to make the Crown Prince jealous, by being his rival in love.
Celine's little heart chose the most convenient path to reach her goal. For her, their public image didn't matter in the greater scheme of things.
'She didn't fall for me because I treated her like a normal person. She fell for me because I made her want to cry, scream, and pull her hair out, but also smile and laugh like a maniac?'
Lucian recalled the answer he got to his question.
'She is not romantic at all.'
He drew a piggy Celine, connecting the stars in the sky. He wished he could show it to her, but he knew she would make him erase it, and draw something else.
Then, she would draw a Lucian piggy, and they would bicker about whose piggy was more accurate.
The rest of the night passed in silence. It was a long-distance date under the stars, where they shared the same sky, but not the same space.
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A few days later…
Lucian took another nap on the bench, which became his well-known habit among the students and staff.
He would often be found sleeping around the campus, in the most random places. Sometimes in the library, sometimes in the garden, sometimes in the empty classrooms.
He was recharging his third eye whenever he could, storing energy for when he needed it the most.
It was not the most noble way to conduct himself, but people seemed to like him for it?
He didn't understand the appeal of a lazy-looking, sleeping man, but it seemed to have made him more popular among the female students, who would often bring him snacks by his sleeping spot, and leave them there for him to find when he woke up.
He would test the snacks for poison, share them with Celine in secret, give her the letters that came with the snacks, then go about his day as if nothing happened.
She seemed to enjoy reading them, and he enjoyed the look on her face when she read them.
Celine crumbled the letter in her fists, chewing on the savory crackers as if they were the bones of the letter's writer, "You scoundrel, flirting with other ladies left and right."
"During my nap at that, that's quite the talent I possess, don't you think so?" Lucian checked for any sign of jealousy, but instead found a proud smile on her face as she ate.
It was as if she had stolen something precious from someone else, and was enjoying the taste of victory. He was the stolen treasure in this case.
Celine ended up in detention again for bullying the Heroine. Her background couldn't win against the Crown Prince's favoritism this time, and she was forced to face the consequences of her actions.
Celine acted like it was the end of the world when, secretly, she was happy that it happened. She had found a way to meet with Lucian more often after all.
Lucian would sit in the detention room with her, "supervising" her as she was forced to write lines. But he was the one who ended up writing them for her.
"It's only right you do it, splitting the punishment with me since we are partners in crime," Celine said, lounging on her chair with a glass of juice in hand, acting like a queen, "I can't have my hand cramped because of you."
"Your Ladyship," Lucian stopped writing and looked at her, "I'm only doing this because you are carrying our child. Otherwise, I would have left you here to suffer the consequences of your own actions."
Her shoulders dropped for a moment before she pretended not to hear him, sipping her juice. It was hard to tell if she was hurt or not, because her lips curled into a smile right after, her eyes crinkling at the corners.
"..." She must be warping his words into something else in her mind, something more palatable for her, like 'I'm doing this because I'm that stupidly whipped for you', or something.
Lucian leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms. "Do you want to sit on my lap while I finish this?"
Celine almost choked on her drink. She coughed, wiping her mouth, giving him a suspicious look.
"You look like you need a hug," he casually replied, patting his lap as an invitation, "You have a tendency to pounce on me when you need one, so why not skip the hassle and just come here?"
She stared at him for a few seconds while grabbing the unread letters. She approached him, sat sideways on his lap, made herself comfortable against his chest, and continued reading the letters.
Lucian resumed writing, his other hand resting on her waist. He didn't mind the weight of her, it was comforting in a way. The child's pump was more visible now, and she was getting bigger by the day.
"Is it for the child again? Or for me?" she asked, placing the letters on his desk and laying her head on his chest.
"Does it matter? It's for the family, the family you and I will make."
Her eyes closed, and she nuzzled against him, her finger drawing circles on his chest. "Let's have another one, after this one is born."
Lucian almost poked a hole through the paper with his pen. "You want more?"
"A part of you I can keep, yes," she murmured, "One that will love me back, no matter what. A sibling for the firstborn, too, so they can both watch over each other. They can team up against you and torture you as payback for how you are treating their mother."
Lucian put down his pen, "What makes you think they will love you? A cruel, cold-hearted mother like you? They will be afraid of you, just like everyone else."
Celine ignored his taunts, no longer interested in talking to him, and looked out of the window, humming a lullaby.
She stroked her stomach gently, a soft smile on her face like she was in a different world where only she and her child existed, far away from him and his harsh words.
The nagging feeling in his chest made him put down the pen completely and wrap his hand around her neck, bringing her lips to his.
Celine widened her eyes, her hands gripping his shoulders as he kissed her deeply. The lullaby in her throat turned into a moan.
When he pulled back, she looked dazed, her breath ragged, "..."
"Try the same stunt as last time," Lucian warned, referring to the time she forced herself on him, knowing how she would do anything to get what she wanted, "I'll cut up your womb, and you won't ever bear a child again, am I clear?"